


Instinct

by ImogenSmiley



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Belief, Canon Compliant, Canon Exploration, Childishness, Dependability, Developing Relationship, Growing Up, Having A Sixth Sense, Honing Your Skills, I'm still not over the season 2 seijoh game, Implied Relationship, In sync, Instinct, M/M, Nuances Of Behaviour, Pre-Canon, Reflex, Reliance, Senses, Sixth Sense, Sport Foresight, Sports, Sync - Freeform, Synchronicity, Volleyball Dorks in Love, canon events, dependance, foresight, implied romantic relationship, nuances, observation, reflexes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:27:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26615935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: “Reflexes are built over time. You must train to understand a person’s queues, conscious or not, you are constantly learning, and adapting the best ways to understand people. Oh is the eternal plight of the human existence.”“Shut the fuck up, Shittykawa.”.....AKA a oneshot to explore the ever iconic pointing at your teammate as you set the ball from the outside the court from the Seijo vs Karasuno match. You know the one.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Kudos: 37





	Instinct

It started with a water bottle. They had just finished a practice match in their first year, against their fellow new-students and without hesitation, like they did at home, Iwaizumi had tossed the bottle to Oikawa.

They were approaching the end of their first year, and all of the older kids had flourished in the competitions, progressing further than Iwaizumi could have dreamed yet. But that meant the first years had little to do except try and improve. So every night, they would play practice match after practice match.

Iwaizumi had let go of the bottle, allowing the gaudy yellow plastic that belonged to his best friend to soar across the gym in the general direction of his best friend. He had yelped when he realised Oikawa hadn’t registered the bottle flying at his face. Fear of it hitting him in the face, and knocking him over so he hit his head flooded through his body. He trembled, mind racing the possibilities of what could happen if Oikawa didn’t register the water bottle hurtling toward him. Would his best friend get a concussion, surely this could be grounds for Iwaizumi to be cut from the team? What if Oikawa chipped a tooth? What if he got amnesia- but his thoughts were cut off with a jolt, like a record scratch, when he noticed the bottle was suddenly in his hand. He’d caught it.

“Thank you, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa had said, unscrewing the lid and having a drink.

His best friend nearly passed out on the spot.

Oikawa hadn’t thought much of his synchronisation with Iwa-chan. Why would he? They were best friends, they’d been together since childhood and Oikawa knew they’d be together until the end of time itself. But, even so, his classmates were starting to question how, without hesitation, they were able to pass things to one another. Sometimes, even without looking.

Oikawa had been gifted a big bag of fruit gummies from a relative returning from vacation, and so, he tossed them through his classroom during recess. Many of his classmates had managed to catch the sweets, but Iwa-chan had been in a conversation with a girl from the class next door.

Yet, without hesitating, Iwa-chan craned his neck back, just a few degrees, parting his lips and caught the candy in his mouth. The class had marvelled in awe at the thoughtless and natural exchange between the two boys. Was Iwaizumi just lucky, or was it some sort of electrical circuitry between the two boys.

Many others had tried to have Oikawa throw his sweets in their mouths, but, none else managed to get the candy in their mouths, or, at least, not without it colliding with chins, cheeks or noses first.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa were special.

When they reached their final year of middle school, the gifted Kageyama Tobio came into their midst, eager for tutelage from the older setter. But Oikawa had refused him. Angrily, Kageyama had thrust his volleyball onto the gym floor, it bounced back and collided with Oikawa’s head.

Many of the team remembered that.

However, during a club meeting, several weeks later, when Oikawa was caught up in conversation with a pretty second year exchange student, Iwaizumi had grown frustrated. He had tossed the nearest ball to him into the air and spiked it, aiming for the back of his best friend’s head. Coach wasn’t in the room, so he could take liberties. What had shocked him, and his classmates, was Oikawa stepping aside, and sending the ball easily to the right. He turned to Iwaizumi and poked his tongue out at his best friend. But, was very quick to cut the rest of the conversation short, simply giving the girl his phone number.

There was chatter among the underclassmen about how on earth they had managed to pull something off like that. They seemed to have an otherworldly connection, like their brains were in sync. Maybe they weren’t human at all?

It wasn’t until High School when people started realising what Iwaizumi’s synchronisation with Oikawa could mean for the team. Seijoh was a good competitor, sure. Nobody could deny that they decimated most schools in the prefecture. They had been dominating the scene for a while, with only a bit of competition with Shiratorizawa. It was friendly enough for them, and with Ushijima Wakatoshi having chosen to study there instead, Oikawa was left with one ally from middle school. But he wasn’t afraid.

It was during a ralley, between the first year students that he saw it. How with a roll of Oikawa’s ankle to the left hand side, Iwaizumi had slipped back from the middle blockers and leapt into the air for Oikawa to set to.

He had whistled lowly. Was it a fluke?

He had called the two boys over to discuss the play at the end of the match. He had eyed the pair as they gaped at him, shocked that he’d noticed how Iwaizumi had responded.

“Was that a message, Oikawa-kun, a hint to the team about where to go?”

Oikawa hummed to himself for a moment; was he conscious of that twitch, had he meant it.

Despite the first year’s eagerness to sound refined and special, he shook his head, “I didn’t realise I’d done it, Coach.”

“And you, Iwaizumi-kun, did you realise what Oikawa-kun was doing.”

Iwaizumi nodded, “Kind of, yes sir. I’ve known Oikawa for a very long time and whenever he decides on what he’s going to do, he lurches, usually forward. I took what I knew and assumed that since his legs had shifted to the left, the ball would go that way too.”

“Interesting. What do you think about that, Oikawa-san?”

“I mean, I guess reflexes are built over time. You must train to understand a person’s queues, conscious or not, you are constantly learning, and adapting the best ways to understand people. Oh is the eternal plight of the human existence.”

Iwaizumi had elbowed his best friend swiftly in the ribs. He was being obsequious again and it was grating. Through gritted teeth, Iwaizumi muttered, “Shut the fuck up, Shittykawa.”

“No, it’s quite alright, Iwaizumi-kun. Oikawa-kun is correct. It’s understanding each other. Oikawa-kun, does Iwaizumi have cues like you do?”

Oikawa hummed, drawing a finger to his chin, tilting his head back, his gaze on the gymnasium lights, “Iwa-chan’s right eye twitches when he’s mad, when he’s upset he spends like twice the amount of time washing his hands after going to the bathroom. When he’s really nervous, he can’t maintain eye contact. Oh! And he only curses when he’s comfortable with someone.”

“He meant about volleyball Shitt- Oikawa.”

Oikawa grinned leering toward his best friend, eyes glistening, “When Iwa-chan jumps he usually leans slightly to the right. Unless he’s going to be the decoy. He pays more attention then.”

Their coach nodded, “You two know each other well.”

“Yes.”

“Keep it that way. Its always good to have a partnership on the court.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi nodded.

Throughout their high school career, the two boys would be seen playing catch, or piggy in the middle like elementary schoolers. Their female classmates had grown bored of their childish games and dedication to a sport that would be superfluous in just a few years. Why care so much about a sport when you could focus your time and energy into friendships, relationships, life skills.

But as Seijoh grew, and as they advanced in their school careers, the duo had fallen into a rhythm that would gain them a reputation. If Oikawa was The Great King, then Iwaizumi was his Knight. When they reached their second year, both were permanent starters, and by their third, they were fearsome players.

They were humbled, of course, but their titles didn’t make keeping egos in check the easiest task. They knew there were better players all around them; they’d heard the rumours of powerhouse schools that always made it to Nationals. Fukurodani, Nekoma, Kamomedai and Inarizaki. They were bound to be there, and more than anything, Oikawa was desperate to make it onto that stage; to win, to play with the best players in the country.

But, there were two teams that stood between him and that dream: Karasuno and Shiratorizawa.

Oikawa didn’t concern himself much with worrying about what Kageyama Tobio was doing now. His protégé was doing what suited him best, and, to his merit, Karasuno was flourishing. But, Seijoh was better. Why? Because he was on this team, because Iwa-chan was on this team.

The night before their match against Karasuno, Oikawa woke from a dreamless slumber in a cold sweat. Still in pyjamas, he walked to Iwa-chan’s house, climbed through his best friend’s window and crawled into his bed. The two boys held each other, their breathing steadying as they finally got some rest. The best six players would make it. The best six, Karasuno had the shrimp and Kageyama, but Seijoh was strong. Seijoh was better.

They just had to prove it.

He hadn’t expected it to be that hard; he hadn’t anticipated the shrimp, let alone Kageyama to have worked on improving. They were tied, and they were losing, one slip up and it was over, and as the ball went veering out of the court, Oikawa knew he had to shirk his ideology. The best six would make it to play Shiratorizawa. But there were only two people that could carry their wounded team to the next level. And so, he reached out to his best friend, to his beloved Iwa-chan and leapt after the ball.

He knew. Oikawa knew he could make that set, they’d been playing catch for months, getting further apart each time, this was child’s play.

The middle blockers and the other spikers vanished. There was just them. The court was empty bar them. They had to do it. They had to make that final dig, the final attack.

So Oikawa set the ball to Iwa-chan, colliding with the benches, landing on his bad knee and cursing himself for the botched landing. But the ball was airbourne and it was just in front of Iwa-chan. A perfect shot.

This is why he’s the ace. Because in times of struggle, Oikawa knows that Iwaizumi is capable of keeping the team in check. He is strong. He is dependable and he will take the win.

Iwaizumi’s breath was shallow as he smacked the ball, full force, from the peak of his jump, from the summit, toward Karasuno’s side of the court, leaving the audience in a stunned silence.


End file.
